Why Photos Matter | om.co
Why Photos Matter
“I photograph to be able to reflect back on and process experiences. Video feels too immutable. The narrative too well defined. The ambiguity of a photograph is why it’s such an effective tool (for me). Memory of travel is fleeting at best. Photos serve as road-markers for returning to those experiences. They keep them real, if somewhat framed. And going back allows me to both experience them again as a different person, and simultaneously recall who I was when I took the photos.”
Responses
- —> steve crandall says:
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:28 am ★
I agree with this to an extent. The act of still photography, when done as a deliberate act can rise to the level of serious art with wonderful nuance. At the same time there is wonderful video, but the process is entirely different (not that I’m expert at either) as one has to deal with the complexity of movement and sound.
As with many art forms some people prefer one to the other. I’m taken with still photography but appreciate how wonderful some video is. I doubt many people are masters of both.
I would argue that video is not immutable. Lillian Schwartz is a good friend who pioneered the art of highly mutable video in the 60s and 70s moving to and creating quite a body of digital work since. There are many masters of the field. It is just a different form of story telling that appeals to different artists and to different audiences.
My own taste runs towards the still image and within that usually to the subset of black and white imagery. To me highly constrained art makes the greatest statement – but I recognize that is a taste rather than anything general. I have a relationship with a motion picture company and am amazed by their art – even if it is not what I enjoy most.
A young friend happens to be one of the best runway models on the planet. In still photography it is her job to work with light and pose to give the photographer the opportunity to create art. She notes the skills associated with that are very different from her kinetic art of the runway or the video work she does. Models tend to be specialized, at least at the top of their game, to still or moving work.
It is delightful we have so much choice for expression and enjoyment!
- —> Om Malik says:
December 23rd, 2011 at 10:16 am ★
Steve
I think we are all different people. Some of us gravitate towards the still image. I do so because photos leave a little bit of mystery and make me use my imagination. Video needs too much immersion and a little less imagination. I have enjoyed taking stills on my various travels and documenting the days and trying to think what I was doing then.
Thanks for the comment.
- —> Deepak says:
December 23rd, 2011 at 10:34 am ★
I believe photographs help you relive those moments. Whenever I look at old pics I just recall those moments… where I was, whom I was with, what was around me, what conversations were taking place, how did I feel at that moment and a lot more. But when I play the videos from those moments, those emotions are not experienced, just everything plays in front of you like you are watching a movie.
- —> Jassim says:
December 23rd, 2011 at 11:02 am ★
The fact that most of the successful user generated content have a significant amount of post shoot work in terms of mixing, editing,graphics wtc shows that video would never achieve the level of mass adoption that photos could have, th simplicity and the relativ ease of both consumption and production would continue to give photos the edge over video.
- —> Kathleen Connally says:
December 23rd, 2011 at 2:06 pm ★
A favorite quote of mine by the great photographer Eddie Adams: “I’m not a great believer in the power of the moving image. A still image has greater lasting power. A still photographer has to show the whole f____g movie in one picture.”
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